Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [5]
Understandably, foreign traders continued to call the capital Bang Makok, which eventually truncated itself to ‘Bangkok’, the name most commonly known to the outside world. These days all Thais understand ‘Bangkok’ but use a shortened version of the official name, Krung Thep (City of Angels). When referring to greater Bangkok, they talk about Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Metropolis of the City of Angels). Expats living in Bangkok have numerous nicknames for their adopted home, with the Big Mango being the most common.
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The Chakri Dynasty & the Birth of Bangkok
One of Taksin’s key generals, Phraya Chakri, came to power and was crowned in 1782 as Phraphutthayotfa. Fearing Thonburi to be vulnerable to Burmese attack from the west, Chakri moved the Siamese capital across the river to Bang Makok (Olive Plum riverbank), named for the trees that grew there in abundance. As the first monarch of the new Chakri royal dynasty – which continues to this day – Phraya Chakri was posthumously dubbed Rama I.
The first task set before the planners of the new city was to create hallowed ground for royal palaces and Buddhist monasteries. Astrologers divined that construction of the new royal palace should begin on 6 May 1782, and ceremonies consecrated Rama I’s transfer to a temporary new residence a month later.
Construction of permanent throne halls, residence halls and palace temples followed.
The plan of the original buildings, their position relative to the river and the royal chapel, and the royal parade and cremation grounds to the north of the palace (today’s Sanam Luang) exactly copied the royal compound at Ayuthaya. Master craftsmen who had survived the sacking of Ayuthaya created the designs for several of the more magnificent temples and royal administrative buildings in the new capital.
In time, Ayuthaya’s control of tribute states in Laos and western Cambodia (including Angkor, ruled by the Siamese from 1432 to 1859) was transferred to Bangkok, and thousands of prisoners of war were brought to the capital to work. Bangkok also had ample access to free Thai labour via the prâi lǒoang (commoner/noble) system, under which all commoners were required to provide labour to the state in lieu of taxes.
Using this immense pool of labour, Rama I augmented Bangkok’s natural canal-and-river system with hundreds of artificial waterways feeding into Thailand’s hydraulic lifeline, the broad Mae Nam Chao Phraya. Rama I also ordered the construction of 10km of city walls and klorng rôrp grung (canals around the city) to create a royal ‘island’ – Ko Ratanakosin – between Mae Nam Chao Phraya and the canal loop. Sections of the 4.5m-thick walls still stand in Wat Saket and the Golden Mount, and water still flows, albeit sluggishly, in the canals of the original royal district.
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ALL THE KINGS’ WOMEN
Until polygamy was outlawed by Rama VI (King Vajiravudh; r 1910–25), it was expected of Thai monarchs to maintain a harem consisting of numerous ‘major’ and ‘minor’ wives and the children of these relationships. This led to some truly ‘extended’ families: Rama I had 42 children by 28 mothers; Rama II (King Phraphutthaloetla Naphalai; r 1809–24), 73 children by 40 mothers; Rama III, 51 children by 37 mothers (he would eventually accumulate a total of 242 wives and consorts); Rama IV, 82 children by 35 mothers; and Rama V, 77 children by 40 mothers. In the case of Rama V, his seven ‘major’ wives were all half-sisters or first cousins, a conscious effort to maintain the purity of the bloodline of the Chakri dynasty. Other consorts or ‘minor’ wives were often the daughters of families wishing to gain greater ties with the royal family.
In contrast to the precedent set by his predecessors, Rama VI had one wife and one child, a girl born only a few hours before his death. As a result, his brother, Prajadhipok, was appointed as his successor. Rama VII also had only one